


All I Want for Christmas

by SharkFairy77



Category: Fruits Basket, Fruits Basket (Anime 2001), Fruits Basket (Anime 2019), Fruits Basket - Takaya Natsuki (Manga)
Genre: Christmas Eve, Christmas Shopping, Fluff, Idiots in Love, M/M, Making Out
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-28
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:00:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28392042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SharkFairy77/pseuds/SharkFairy77
Summary: Kyo has half a day to find Yuki the perfect Christmas gift.
Relationships: Sohma Kyou/Sohma Yuki
Comments: 5
Kudos: 40





	All I Want for Christmas

_Knock knock knock_

Tohru sat straight up in bed, head whipping from side to side, “ _No-please-don’t-fight_ —oh.”

She was in her apartment she shared with Uo. She was not at Shigure’s house. Kyo was not banging ruthlessly on Yuki’s door trying to wake him up so they wouldn’t be late for school.

But there had been knocking, right?

_KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK_

“J-just a second, please,” She stammered as she pulled her self from her bed. Glancing at her alarm clock she blinked repeatedly wondering who on earth would be pounding on her door at 7:45 am. Who would even be awake?

“TOHRU?!” Kyo Sohma’s panicked voice boomed through the ply wood.

Tohru sighed and quickened her pace. Thank goodness Uo was already at work. As much as she tolerated Tohru’s love of “those morons”, Uo would definitely have been screeching back at Kyo through the door for a good couple minutes before actually opening it. Tohru laughed lightly to herself as she twisted the deadbolt.

“Good Morning, Kyo,” she said brightly, welcoming her friend in.

She had expected to see him in his running gear. It was one of his longer routes, but every so often Kyo would run right past her apartment in the morning. Always careful to drop in after 8am to avoid waking them. But, while still breathing hard, Kyo was casually dressed and recently showered.

“Get dressed,” he commanded, his voice strained, “I need your help.”

Tohru’s brow creased. Kyo looked like he hadn’t slept a wink the night before. Which, if she was honest, she was sort of expecting. Yuki had given her a complete rundown of what he had planned for Kyo’s birthday the pervious night. 

It was the first birthday they were celebrating since they had started dating and Yuki had been determined to knock it out of the park. The romantic evening he had described had almost made her swoon. Regardless of how she came across, Tohru was definitely NOT naive about this sort of thing. There was very little chance either of them had done much _sleeping_ the night before.

But Kyo was no where near as... contented... as Tohru would have expected him to be. He ran his hands violently through his bright orange hair, as he stalked through the door. Tohru’s alerts immediately went up.

“Why? What’s wrong?”

Kyo huffed and spun Tohru away from him, pushing her back into her bedroom. “I’ll explain on the way. You. Clothes.” With that he shut the door between them so she could change out of her pajamas. She heard the soft thud of Kyo leaning against the other side and her heart sunk a little bit. 

As hard as her friends worked on their relationship, they were still _them_. They still fought and even not so occasionally would “break up”. Though, Tohru was still convinced a real break up had to last a full 36 hours for it to fully count.   
  
Still, they had been doing a lot better throughout the recent months. November and December had both been relatively indecent free. Yuki was doing his best to open up about things he normally wouldn’t mention, and Kyo was finding it easier and easier to express emotions other than rage. 

“Kyo,” Tohru started gently. She knew her friend well, and cornering Kyo was never the way to get answers out of him, “can you please tell me where we’re going?”

There was a good few seconds of silence. “Shopping,” Kyo finally replied, “I need to get Yuki a Christmas gift.”

~~

Twenty minutes later, Kyo was dragging Tohru by her wrist in the direction of the nearest shopping center. His brow pinched in concentration as he glowered at the concrete beneath his feet. Tohru could practically see the wheels spinning in his head. Probably trying to magically come up with the perfect gift. She silently wished him luck. Yuki could be a frustrating person to shop for.

“Any ideas?” She panted. She was practically jogging to keep up with his long, determined stride. Kyo seemed to notice this when he glanced at her over his shoulder. Immediately, he slowed his pace so she could walk next to him.

“Sorry,” he muttered, releasing her wrist, “I was hoping you’d be able to think of something.”

Tohru hummed in thought, bringing her hand up to her chin and scrunching her nose up, “Well, that shop where he buys a lot of his gardening tools is near here. We could look there.”

Kyo shook his head, “He already has gardening tools.”  
Tohru bit the inside of her lip, “Can I ask again what’s wrong with the present you already got him? I can’t think of a reason Yuki wouldn’t like it.”

Kyo winced, “Yeah well, I need better than like. I need… I dunno… _special_.”

“I think he’s going to think what you bought is special just because it came from you.”

Kyo slowed to a stop and balled his hands into fists, “I know that, Tohru,” He paused and ran a hand through his hair, “Look, he deserves a better gift, alright?”

Tohru turned to face her best friend. Bringing her hands together in front of her she took a deep breath, “Kyo? Is this because of the watch?”

His head snapped in her direction, eyes burning with accusation, “You knew about the watch?”

Tohru straightened up proudly, “I helped Yuki pick it out.” She smiled. 

Kyo, on the other hand, looked like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing, “What the fuck, Tohru!?” He exclaimed. A few passers by on the street shot him nasty side looks, “You couldn’t have given me a heads up!”

“Of course not,” She huffed, her hands springing to her hips, “It was a surprise for your birthday and I happened to think it was lovely!”

Kyo’s mouth dropped open. He held his arm out in front of him, helplessly, “I know, but… Jesus, do you have any idea how much of an asshole I look like now?”

“No,” she countered, “I don’t. You bought Yuki a wonderful gift. It may not have been particularly expensive, but it came from the heart! I know it did.”

“That’s not the- the price doesn’t matter!” Kyo closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He let it out slowly, calming himself down.

“What’s wrong then?” Tohru asked, “Do you not like it?”

“Like it?” Kyo’s eyes popped open. He pulled the sleeve of his jacket back, revealing a silver watch. It’s brand new links and ruby face glistened in the morning light. “Of course I like it.” His voice softened, “It’s- it’s not that,” he finished statement quickly.

Using his new watch for his intended purpose, he started walking again. “C’mon the mall’s opening soon.”

Tohru shuddered. It didn’t really matter what time it was, the mall was going to be packed. Meaning she was about to brave large crowds and grotesque over-spending with a person who was basically the antithesis of those things. Plastering on the most determined smile she could muster, she followed after her friend. Somewhere in Tokyo, lay the perfect Christmas gift for one Yuki Sohma, and gosh darn it, they were _going_ to find it.

~~

Kyo seriously wanted to punch someone. Or some thing. Hell, he would have stood there punching the air if it was possible. The people were packed so tightly in the shopping center, he probably would have knocked at least three to the ground. Which he had to admit, did not sound like the worst possible scenario.

He was exhausted. And Pissed.

Kyo liked to think he was a reasonable guy. Not overwhelmingly patient, but reasonable. Today had blown all of that out the window. 

So far, he had been accosted by a total of 5 different people, all of which would be having a very different day if he had been just a few years younger. Two were kids. Or, brats, in this case, that had crashed into his legs while running to the toy store. The third was their mother who was not particularly thrilled with the language he used when addressing her children. The 4th was a woman who wouldn’t give him his spot in line back after he stepped a grand total 40 centimeters away. She’d had worse language than he did with the kids. The 5th was a high school boy that was too busy texting to watch where he was walking. 

By the time they reached the food court, Kyo had decided this was what hell looked like.

Four hours they had been shopping. He had always known Yuki was hard to find gifts for, but for fuck sake, this was ridiculous. Clothes didn’t exactly wow as a gift, Kyo had no idea what half the electronics they looked at did, and he honestly felt Yuki would rather bake a cake then receive one from a bakery.

He groaned and dropped his head into his hands. That’s where he was supposed to be. Back at his apartment making a Christmas cake with his boyfriend. Instead, he was at a mall frantically searching for the the perfect gift with his ex-girlfriend. Oh yeah, he was a _real_ catch. Totally deserving of the birthday watch that was weighing heavier on his wrist by the second. 

  
“Here,” Tohru perched next to him on the edge of the food court fountain and handed him a soda. It was the closest thing they could find to a table. 

Kyo took a drink and glared at the wall of people in front of him. The curse was long gone, but he still hated crowds. The meager gift he had at home for Yuki had been purchased over a month ago when he could avoid the holiday rush. 

Next to him, Tohru was eating a crepe as quickly as she could while still being somewhat ladylike.

“Sorry,” he muttered, “I should’a got you some food this morning.”  
She shook her head as she swallowed, “No, no I should have said something,” She took another bite, “I completely forgot.”

Kyo sipped his soda, glumly. Perfect. He was even a crappy ex-boyfriend.

“Oh!” Tohru snapped her fingers, “There’s a fancy coffee shop down the street. Yuki would like that wouldn’t he?”

Kyo lifted the corner of his mouth. “I mean, he would.”

Tohru scrunched up her mouth, “Still not good enough.”

“Hell, I don’t know.” Kyo set the soda down and rested his elbows on his knees. He stared at the scuffed tiles beneath his feet and cursed.

Tohru wiped her hands with a napkin before placing one on Kyo’s back comfortingly, “We’ll find something.”

“No, we won’t,” He snapped, “not like this.” He held up his arm. The watch was just visible from the top of his cuff.

Contrary to what his English grade would suggest Kyo was not stupid. Yuki’s gift had taken time. He had put thought into it. Thought and care and… _love_. It wasn’t just a watch. It was the perfect watch. Light weight so he could wear it when he ran or trained. Rust and scratch resistant so he didn’t have to worry about keeping it nice. The bright red face. The one that Yuki had said made him think of Kyo’s eyes. Eyes that had welled when he flipped it over.

“I cried, Tohru.” He admitted, “No one’s ever… not even Shishou.”

Tohru pulled her hands up to her mouth to try and stifle the tiny noise she made. Kyo gave her an unimpressed look. 

“I’m sorry.” She squeaked, “He was just so worried you wouldn’t like it.” 

Her own eyes started to shine. Kyo shoved a finger in her face, “Don’t you dare.”

She waved a hand, swatting him away, “I won’t, I won’t. I just- If you like it that much and it’s not the price, why are you so upset?”

Kyo swallowed and looked at the floor again, “He got it for my birthday.”

“Yeah.” Tohru’s hand was back on his back.

“I- at dinner he ordered a bottle of sake for us.”

“Did he?”

Kyo nodded at his feet.

“What’s wrong with that? You’re both of age now.” She smiled.

Kyo winced, “Exactly.” He sighed when Tohru didn’t show signs of comprehension. “When we started dating he was 19. Couldn’t drink.”

Tohru nodded, still not seeing the big picture.

“Meaning he turned 20 after we started going out. He had a birthday.”

Tohru’s eyes widened slowly as it started to dawn on her. “Oh… you’re right. He did.”

“Figured it out last night after we… went to bed.” Tohru gave him a knowing smile and Kyo felt the back of his neck flame, “Yeah, yeah. Shut up.”

“So it was a romantic night, then?” She asked clearly hoping to lighten the mood. Kyo slumped, her question only serving to make him feel like more of a dick.

“It was perfect.” He said quietly, “Absolutely, fucking perfect. Just like Yuki.” 

He dropped his head again, clutching fistfuls of his hair. “God, how the fuck am I supposed to follow that- follow this,” He waved his arm in her face, “with, _‘Hey, babe, when’s your birthday, again?_ ’”

Tohru snorted out a giggle, snapping Kyo out of his self pity, “ _Hey_!”

Tohru hid behind her hands, “I know, I know! I’m so sorry!” She cleared her throat trying to compose herself, “In my defense, you did just refer to Yuki as _babe_.”

Kyo rolled his eye, “Yeah well, if I don’t find something amazing in the next,” He checked his perfect watch, “3 hours… Fuck, I’ll probably have to start calling him ex-babe.”

Tohru’s tiny smile slid right off her face, “Don’t say that.”

“Why not?”

“Because Yuki would never leave you over something as silly as a Christmas gift!” She replied. Her voice so matter of fact, Kyo would have believed her, even if he didn’t already know it was true.

The music on the loud speaker switched to a new track, filling the atrium with the tinging of Christmas bells. Kyo recognized the song instantly. Some American pop number that they had heard about a zillion times. Kyo felt his skin crawl as the familiar drums picked up the beat. 

“C’mon,” He mumbled, “Let’s go check out that coffee place.”

Tohru sighed and made her way to the trash can, “Okay, but you know what I think?”

“That you should tell me when Yuki’s birthday is?”

“Oh,” She paused, bringing her hand up to her chin, “No, I don’t think I will.”

“What?” Kyo yelped, “Why not?”

She regarded him with her serious face, “Because, I think you should ask him.”

“No.”

“Kyo…”

“Absolutely not.” He shoved his hands into his pockets, “He can’t know.”Tohru gave him a sad smile, “Well, Kyo, I think he probably knows already.” She sighed, “I- I can’t keep being a crutch for you guys. You need to learn how to communicate if it’s going to work between you.”

“Hey,” Kyo’s voice was defensive, “One of us communicates just fine, thank you,”

Tohru deadpanned, “Where does Yuki think you are right now?”

Kyo blanched, “Well, that’s. That’s not. Why would I?” He sputtered for a decent answer, “Dammit.”

Tohru smiled in smuggest way her face would allow. Meaning she was really just unashamedly beaming.

“You know, I think I liked you better when you were afraid to call me out.”

Tohru chuckled politely, “When was that?” 

~~

The coffee shop, as it turned out, was even busier than the shopping center. They were obviously short staffed and lone cashier looked like she wanted to burst in to tears. The line snaked through the shelves, making it nearly impossible for shoppers to browse. To make matters worse, the same song they had just bolted from at the mall started mere seconds after they walked in. Kyo was about to give up when something shiny caught is his attention. Grabbing Tohru’s wrist in a vice grip, he dragged her through the throngs to the back of the store. 

Along the wall, were several different models of specialty coffee makers. He glanced at Tohru as he inspected them. She nodded eagerly, obviously thinking the same thing.

Neither of them were coffee drinkers of any kind. Tohru would indulge when she had the late shift at work sometimes, but it was usually from the vending machine and Kyo unequivocally preferred tea. The few times he had tried coffee, he thought the taste was disgusting and the high caffeine intake was going to send him rocketing into the atmosphere. 

Yuki, on the other hand, usually required multiple cups to bring himself to _marginally awake_ status. All he had at home was a cheap coffee machine that Ayame had given him, but when he had early classes or stayed the night at Kyo’s, Yuki always stopped at the cafe on his way. More often than not he would even come home with a second cup in the afternoon. Kyo had had to dump what little was left down the drain a couple times. The liquid was always milky and sweet smelling so he knew Yuki liked the fru-fru specialty drinks. It would be nice if he could make them at home. 

Kyo’s eyes scanned the shelves for the prices. They were expensive. More than he would normally spend on tea in a year, but they weren’t so bad he couldn’t manage. He scratched his head.

It checked all the boxes. Price. Originality. A tiny personal touch. Kyo was even confident Yuki would like it. It wasn’t perfect, but… it was a perfectly nice gift.

Tohru tracked down one of the frazzled employees and Kyo selected a sleek chrome model with more buttons and knobs than his laptop.   
Kyo let out a breath of relief when they exited the shop. The line had taken them an hour to get through, but he had held their spot while Tohru darted around selecting a few flavors of beans that she knew Yuki would like. All in all, it was great team effort. 

On their way to the train station, Tohru stopped to enjoy a few of the Christmas window displays. Most of them were red and green with Christmas trees, but one had was twinkling with about 3,000 Christmas lights. It gave Kyo an idea. 

When they got off the train, he secured the coffee maker under one arm and fished his wallet out of his pocket. Checking his watch, he sent Tohru into the nearby convince store and headed home. He had a little over an hour to get home, wrap the gift, change his clothes, and execute his plan before he had to meet Yuki. 

  
~~

  
Kyo was only 2 minutes late. Just 2 measly minutes. There was absolutely no reason to be worried.

At least that’s what Yuki had been telling himself since he had arrived in Roppongi 20 minutes ago. He had to admit, it would be a lot easier to believe things were fine if he hadn’t woken up alone. 

He had a very fuzzy memory of Kyo gently nudging him awake and mumbling something, but for all he knew it was dream his subconscious had fabricated to make him feel better. The only hard information he had as to his boyfriend’s whereabouts was a text saying Kyo had to take care of something and he would meet him for dinner.

Yuki shivered a little as he checked his phone. No new texts. 

He know he was being ridiculous. Kyo would tell him if there was something wrong. He wasn’t exactly known for his flexibility.

He sighed. Truthfully, he was a little worried. In his determination to give Kyo an absolutely perfect birthday, he couldn’t deny that he had gone a little overboard in some areas. The dinner for instance. God, if Kyo ever saw the check, he would probably have a literal heart attack. And then there was the watch… Another thing Yuki would be sure Kyo never found the receipt for.

Yuki rolled his eyes and checked his phone again. 4 minutes late and still no new texts.

He supposed he could just call Kyo. Again if something was wrong-

“Hey.”

It took all Yuki’s will not to jump when a strong hand dropped onto his shoulder from behind.

“Scare ya?” Kyo asked with lopsided grin. He squeezed Yuki’s shoulder in their subtle show of affection.

“No,” Yuki lied, “I’m just not accustomed to people grabbing me on street corners.”

Kyo snorted, “Bullshit, I’ll bet its Fuckface’s primary from of greeting.”

“That’s fair,” Yuki hummed, “Kakeru said to tell you happy birthday, by the way.”

Yuki watched Kyo’s reaction very closely. He didn’t seem too put off at the mention of the previous day.

“Yeah? You talk to him today?”

“Only for a bit.” Their conversation had basically been Kakeru telling him to chill out. It was highly unlikely he chased Kyo off by celebrating his birthday _too enthusiastically_. Yuki silently prayed he was right.

“Are you hungry yet or do you want to walk around a bit?” Yuki asked. The area they were in was extremely popular on Christmas Eve and had its own light show that they put on every year. In all honesty, Yuki was looking forward to seeing some of them.

“I could eat.” Kyo shrugged, “Might as well get the part where I stand in a 2 hour line to poison myself over with.”

“I doubt KFC would still be in business if that were the case,” Yuki responded dryly, “But, I told you we don’t have to. There’s plenty of restaurants around here.”

“No,” Kyo’s voice was determined as he grabbed Yuki by the wrist and marched him towards the mile long line, “We said we were gonna do it all, let’s do it all.”

Yuki laughed and allowed himself to be dragged. By “it all”, Kyo had been referring to the Christmas Eve hype. As far as holidays went, it was second only to Valentine’s Day in the romance department. Couples from all over Japan had flocked to the area to eat KFC, admire the display, and wait for the Tokyo Tower to turn off its lights. The story was, that if you saw it go dark, you and your date would have true love forever.

A legend Yuki had more or less debunked when he watched the Tower light show with Machi 2 years prior.

For their first Christmas together, he and Kyo had decided that they would do everything. They would partake in all the traditions they could and then in years to come… if there were years to come… they would be able to pick and choose the parts of the holiday they wanted to experience again. If any.

Yuki had a feeling KFC was not going to be a repeat attraction.

Kyo grumbled when he got to the end of the line, crossing his arms and pouting at the column of people before them.

“What are you doing?” Yuki asked unable to keep the giggle out of his voice. He walked passed Kyo to in the direction of a much shorter line, “We’re in that one.”

“What?” Kyo looked confused but his eyes lit up at the prospect of not having to wait.

“I called and ordered ahead.” Yuki grinned, “Little trick I got from fuckface.”

“Oh.” Kyo deadpanned, “guess he is good for something.”

Yuki rolled his eyes. Kyo was not his best friend’s biggest fan. A feeling he knew was completely mutual. Kakeru was overjoyed to see Yuki so happy, but he remained wary. 

When Yuki and Kyo first started going out, things were… rocky. There were several instances of them breaking up only for them to get back together. And like Tohru, Kakeru had seen the strain it had on them. The difference was, he had no problem taking a side. It also did not help that Yuki had ended a perfectly nice relationship with Kakeru’s little sister to be with Kyo.

After several failed attempts to bring them both around, Yuki had decided it was best to just stand back and let them warm to each other on their own. Which was working. Sort of. 

“He takin’ Maki out tonight?” Kyo asked, surprisingly.

“In a way.” Yuki replied. He pulled out his wallet as they got closer to the front, “He reserved them a hotel room for the night.”

Kyo lifted an eye brow, “You mean like a hotel room or… a, uh, _hotel_ room.”

Yuki resisted the urge to tease his boyfriend, “As in a hotel with room service and a scenic balcony view.”

“Wow,” Kyo’s other eyebrow shot up, “That couldn’t of been cheap.”

“It was not.” Yuki confirmed. He stepped up to window and paid for their order. Out the corner of his eye he saw Kyo frown a little.

“He must have been saving for something like that for a while.” Kyo said when Yuki gave him questioning look.

“He might have had some help.” Yuki said checking over the contents of their bag.

“Oh?” Kyo looked surprised.

Yuki shrugged, his ears growing a little warm, “They’ve been good to me.”

“No, I know,” Kyo said, “I’m just a little surprised he let you do that.”

“Ah, well, I said it could be his Christmas gift and,” Yuki flushed, “His options may have been that or I tie him up by his ankles and let you use him as a punching bag.”

Kyo smirked, “Any chance that can be _my_ Christmas gift?”

“No,” Yuki said matter of factly, “Besides, I already got you something.”

Kyo suddenly looked like he’d been punched in the gut, “You did?”

“Of course,” Yuki frowned, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, I just thought that after last night-,” Kyo ran a hand through his hair, “you didn’t have to get me anything for Christmas too.”

Yuki yanked a smile to his face despite the doubt crushing down on him, “I wanted to.” He said honestly.

Kyo eyed him for a moment his lips pressed together. He looked like he was dying to say something, but in the end he just let out a long breath.

“Kyo?” Yuki prompted.

Kyo shook his head, “It’s nothing. I- I got you something too.” He smiled awkwardly.

Yuki felt a real smile bubble up, “You didn’t have to either.”

Kyo snorted and rolled his eyes, “Do me a favor. Don’t say that for the rest of the night, okay?”

Yuki titled his head. Wasn’t that just good manners? 

“Sure.”

“Thanks,” Kyo said, exasperated. “Can we eat? I’m fucking starving.”

Yuki nodded and followed after him.

  
~~

  
Kyo really was an idiot. 

_OF FUCKING COURSE!_

Of course Yuki got him a Christmas gift too. Just because he had practically emptied his bank account on Kyo’s birthday, didn’t mean he forgot about Christmas. Why the hell had Kyo not thought of that!?

Oh right. Because he was the shitty boyfriend. At least, he was compared to the effortless perfection that Yuki seemed to be born with.

He led Yuki through the lit up trees and sidewalks until they found a small sitting area where they could eat. It wasn’t exactly private, but the other couples didn’t even seem to notice them. 

Kyo noted, to his relief, that they weren’t even the only same sex pair milling around. He figured some of them could just be friends enjoying the scenery together, but at least a few had to be like him and Yuki. Only he imagined one wasn’t so overwhelmingly better at being a boyfriend that the other in any of those relationships. 

He tried to remind himself that it wasn’t as bad as if felt. Back at his apartment was a pristine, state-of-the-art, Tohru-Honda wrapped, espresso maker. And when he opened it, Yuki would know. Would know that Kyo cared just as much as he did. Kyo had never been so relieved that he went shopping in his life.

“You’re quiet tonight,” Yuki mentioned when Kyo returned from throwing away their chicken boxes? “Are you sure everything’s alright?”

“Yeah,” Kyo blurted.

Yuki gave him a disbelieving look. 

“Just tired.” Kyo decided it was not entirely a lie.

Yuki hummed, “I suppose I can understand that.”

Kyo gave him a warning look that Yuki ignored blatantly.

“You were up _awfully_ late last night.” He finished, eyes teasing.

Kyo glared even as his ears and neck flamed, “Shut up.”

“And you got up pretty early.” Yuki added, clearing his throat.

“I always get up early,” Kyo defended, “Something you would know nothing about.” He cocked his head in the direction of the Tower. “Lets go.”

“Oh right,” Yuki mocked, not unkindly, “old men like you have to go to the early light show so they don’t miss their bed time.”

He was referring to the 9pm ceremony the Tower put on so couples wouldn’t have to wait for the lights to go off at midnight. He had agreed to attend the early time slot in exchange for Kyo eating mass produced chicken.

“We don’t have to see any show if you’re gonna be an ass all night.” Kyo shot back.

Yuki laughed and gave Kyo’s shoulder a light shove, “I only mention it because it’s still two hours away.” 

Kyo smiled mischievously at that. He had at least one other surprise planned for the evening.

  
The look on Yuki’s face was all the gift he would ever need. It was something between apprehension and wonder.

“Ice skating?” Yuki sounded amazed.

Kyo grinned, “One of the guys at the dojo mentioned he brought his girlfriend here. Whad’ya think?”

Yuki smiled ear to ear. A real smile that reached his eyes, “I think we’re about to make massive fools of ourselves.”

Kyo snorted, “You, maybe. C’mon.”

15 minutes later, the were sitting on a bench next to the rink lacing up their rented ice skates.

“Have you ever done this before?” Yuki asked

Kyo shrugged, “How hard can it be?”

“Um…”

Before Yuki could finish, Kyo was up and hobbling towards the ice. Needless to say, he was not worried. Years of martial arts training had granted him damn near perfect balance. All he had to do was find his center and…

“Gah!” he exclaimed flailing his arms and twerking back and forth as his ankles wobbled on the the skinny blades, 

Finally he managed to stabilize himself on two feet with his arms thrown out in front of him. His victory was quickly quieted by the sound of light hysterical laughter. Laughter that he had become extremely well aquatinted with in the last couple years.

“Shut up.” He muttered.

“I’m sorry,” Yuki chuckled, “But you looked-.”

“I said shut up!” Kyo repeated, snapping his head back to glare at his giggling boyfriend. The sudden movement only serving to knock him off balance again. 

“Fuck!” He cursed crashing down on his behind.

“Careful!” Yuki was next to him in a second, gliding the short distinct across the ice, “Are you alright?” He asked reaching out a hand.

“No!” Kyo snapped, reluctantly accepting the help, “Why the hell is this so hard?”

Yuki shushed him between his snickers, “Stop cursing, you idiot. There’s kids around.” He pulled Kyo up to his unsteady feet, placing his hands on his own shoulders. “Here. Hold on to me.”

“Don’t tell me what to do!” Kyo insisted, “Or call me an idiot. AND STOP LAUGHING, WILL YOU!!”

Which, of course, only made Yuki crack up all over again. “I’m sorry, I can’t.” He wheezed.

Kyo grunted and tried to push away from Yuki, “That’s it! I’m done with this!” 

“No, c’mon, I’m sorry I won’t laugh anymore,” Yuki promised, pulling Kyo back. He managed to rein in his ringing laughter, but was still grinning like an asshole. “Can I show you how?”

Kyo narrowed his eyes and grunted, “Whatever.” 

Yuki smiled and winked at him. A sign that told Kyo he would have kissed him in a less public place. He would never admit how much it made his heart flutter. 

“Just hold on for now,” Yuki said. He slid his hands along the bottom of Kyo’s arms, gripping his elbows. Slowly, he started to move backwards, pulling Kyo along with him. His feet instantly started to lean inward.

“Try to stay up on the blades,” Yuki instructed, gently. “I won’t let you fall.”

Kyo did as he was told with minimal grousing. Soon he was gliding along with Yuki, his ankles adapting quickly to the new sensation. 

“Good,” Yuki praised. “Now, without picking your foot up, try to move forward.”

Shakily, Kyo slid his right foot about six inches forward. He repeated the motion with his left foot resulting in a jerky technique that inched him forward at the pace of a snail.

“Oh, this is fun,” he griped.

“You’re doing fine.” Yuki replied, “Lengthen your strides. Glide. Don’t try to walk.”

Kyo took a deep breath and tried again.

It didn’t take long for him to get the hang of it. Yuki was a good teacher and despite over estimating his balancing abilities, Kyo was athletic. For the most part, he knew what muscles did what.

Deeming Kyo good enough to try on his own, Yuki let go of him and twisted to skate next to him. “See? Not as hard as you thought.”

Kyo nodded and tried to keep his head up. But without Yuki, guiding him, he kept looking at his feet. “Who taught you?”

“Do you remember Kimi Todo?”

Kyo thought, “Is that the one Arisa tried to pop at our graduation party.”

“I forgot about that.” Yuki laughed, “She taught me in our second year.”

“Wait,” Kyo said, “A girl taught you? The way you just taught me?”

“Mhm. She insisted. Nothing inspires one to learn quickly like the possibility of turning into a rat in front of a hundred people.”

Kyo laughed this time, “I’ll bet. You and your thing about saying no to girls.”

“At least they aren’t afraid of me.”

“No shit. They basically stalk you.”

“They do not.” Yuki’s voice was starting to tinge with annoyance.

Kyo snickered. They absolutely did stalk him. Kyo even did a quick glance around the rink to confirm his suspicions. Sure enough, more that one female was eyeing them. A few of their boyfriends were giving them less friendly looks, as well. He peered out the corner of his eye. Yuki was oblivious. As usual.

They skated for a while longer. Kyo quickly becoming more comfortable with the graceful motions. He even tried to goad Yuki into racing a few times. Yuki held strong in his refusal, but Kyo definitely saw his eye twitch when he called him a wuss. He decided it was best to let it go un-mentioned. They were having a nice time. Romantic even, with the lights in the in the trees above them as they glided along in circles.

At one point, Kyo’s toe pick caught on the ice and he stumbled forward a couple steps. He was able to right himself, but Yuki still reached out his hand as if it were instinct. Kyo took it just as automatically. Even though he was standing straight on his own. 

They held on for two more laps.

  
When they finished they turned in their skates and made their way over to the Tower. Rather than just shutting off the lights, there was a proper illumination show. Different colors flashing over the tower before it went dark for a few minutes and came back on in it’s regular golden hue.“Well, that’s that. I guess we’re gonna be together forever.” Kyo said, knowing full well that they had each watched a similar spectacle when they were dating other people.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Yuki said, “We’ll kill each other long before forever.”

Kyo laughed and nudged his shoulder, “Let’s head out. I can’t feel my fingers.”

Yuki nodded and huddled closer to him with a tiny shiver. “Yeah, I’ve had enough traditions for one night. Thank you for indulging me.

Kyo shrugged and resisted the urge to wrap and arm around him. “Wasn’t too bad.”

Yuki gave him the same substitute-for-a-kiss wink, “I’m glad.”

  
~~

  
Kyo’s apartment was above a bar in Shinjuku run by a drag queen. A rather humorous twist of fate as Kyo was probably less likely to spend his nights drinking than he was to take up tap dancing. It wasn’t exactly the quietest place in the world, but it had been a hell of a deal and it was close to the dojo he was working at part time.

His landlord, Lou, was the owner of the bar below him and a former university friend of Kazuma’s. He’d offered Kyo the lowest rent payment in history if he helped out with some repairs during the summer months. Repairs that Kyo quickly found out were, in fact, an extensive remodel completely beyond the capabilities of one teenager and a middle aged bar keep. After days of grinding work with little to no progress, Kyo had swallowed his pride and enlisted Yuki, Hatsuharu, and an enthusiastic, but ultimately useless Momiji.

It had taken all summer and a good chunk of Kaibara high school graduates (Tohru, Arisa, Hana, and even Kakeru and Machi had all pitched in at least once), but eventually the job was done. Even Kyo had to admit, for a bunch of kids who had no clue what they were doing, the place looked pretty good. 

Since then, Kyo had found himself gaining something of a second family. During the Christmas season, he had helped Lou’s teenage daughter, Satsuki, string up flashing lights around the bar entrance. He could feel his anticipation rising as he spotted them from a block away. 

Of the two of them, Yuki pretty much had the upper hand when it came to “grand gestures”. Kyo’s birthday had definitely been the most extravagant, but there were other instances of Yuki finding little ways to spoil him. Some of which were technically even before they started dating. Like the dinner he had planned when Kyo won his first tournament. And even though they usually came with a whopping dose of humility, Kyo always found his chest constricting and his heart warming. So as they approached his building, Kyo couldn’t help feel excited that for once, Yuki was the one who had something special waiting for him on the other side of the door.  
  
They entered through the side door, choosing to avoid the busy bar on their way in. Kyo couldn’t hold back a grin as he opened the door and flipped the light switch.

Yuki’s jaw actually dropped at the sight before him. 

Kyo’s furniture had all been rearranged to highlight a plastic 4 foot Christmas tree that he had displayed on his living room table. Twinkling lights framed the window behind it, matching the ones twirled around the tree. Below the tree sat Yuki’s gift in shiny red paper.

“You did this?” Yuki asked. As if it wasn’t Kyo’s apartment and it could have been anyone else.

Kyo shrugged, “Tohru helped.” He scratched the back of his head. “Actually, I was really the one who helped her.”

He was surprised to see Yuki’s smile fall a little.

“You were with Tohru this morning?” He asked.

Kyo cleared his throat and tried to act like it was no big deal, but there was a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. ” Uh… Yeah. I needed her help with something.”

“This?” Yuki asked motioning to the tree.

“More or less.” Kyo nodded, “She’s like you. Good at this sort of thing.”

To his relief Yuki huffed a small laugh, “That’s giving me entirely too much credit. Tohru’s in a class all her own.” He eyed the large package under the tree. “Is that for me?”

“It was before you laughed at me on the ice.” Kyo quipped crossing his arms. 

“Is that so?” Yuki turned to him with a very specific look. One that reminded Kyo that they were not in public anymore and Yuki had free rein to activate his _seduction mode_. Which would have sounded totally stupid if it wasn’t so damn accurate. Or Effective.

“Yup.” Kyo croaked, his throat suddenly feeling very dry.

Yuki pulled his arms apart so he could unzip Kyo’s winter jacket and push it to the floor. Which somehow made Kyo hotter than when he was wearing it. 

Yuki slid his hands down to Kyo’s hips, “I guess I’ll just have to prove I’m still worthy of it.”

“Be my guest.” Kyo whispered.

And then they were kissing. Rolling their lips together as if it was only thing they were meant for. Kyo used every ounce of his motor skills to work the buttons on Yuki’s jacket open with his dominate hand. The other automatically sliding up the back of Yuki’s neck into his silk like hair.

By the time Yuki’s own coat was on the floor, Kyo was pressed unashamedly up against the door to his apartment grinding himself on the knee Yuki had shoved between his legs. Feeling himself quickly loosing control of his senses, he pulled away from their lip lock, letting his head fall back against the door as he gulped for air. 

Yuki moved to his neck, trailing kisses over his pulse point before leaning close to his ear and whispering things Kyo didn’t think anyone would ever say to him. Least of all, the arrogant rat that he had once blamed for all the worst parts of his life.

Through the door he could hear the bar below them playing tacky Christmas music. Blinking back to the present, he pushed lightly at Yuki’s shoulder until he got the message and paused his pursuit of slowly dismantling Kyo.

“Open your gift first,” Kyo gasped. As much as he wanted to continue what they were doing, he had worked hard for that gift and he was determined to see Yuki blown away by it. And then, he thought, maybe afterwards he could continue blowing Yuki’s mind for a good portion of the night.

“Oh, so it’s mine again?” Yuki was equally breathless as he pulled away.

“Just fucking open it, would you?” Kyo whined. 

Yuki laughed and knelt next to the tree. Kyo almost snorted at how messed up his hair was. Silver strands shooting off in every direction.

He plopped down across form Yuki, wondering if he looked equally manhandled. In all honestly, he probably looked even more so.

Yuki pulled his discarded coat across the floor and dug something out of the pocket. He pulled out a small white envelope and haded it to Kyo with a tiny flush.

“It’s not much, but this is yours,” he smiled.

Kyo took it, praying whatever was inside wasn’t on par with directions to the Fountain of Youth. 

“Can I go first?” Yuki sounded excited as he looked over his package.

“Yeah,” Kyo wondered if Yuki noticed that he sounded just as excited for him to open it.

Kyo could feel his heart rate start to pick up watching Yuki pulling at the paper. Was this how Yuki felt when he was watching Kyo open the watch after they got home from dinner the previous night? It was kind of a nice feeling. Knowing that any second now-

“Wow.” 

Yuki was staring at the coffee maker with eyes the size of dinner plates. He looked… stunned. His eyes flickered to Kyo, “I. You?” He flapped his mouth a few more times before looking back at the coffee maker. “Wow.” He repeated.

Kyo frowned. Sure, Yuki definitely looked surprised, but he also looked a little… uncomfortable?

“What’s wrong? Don’t you like it?”

Yuki blinked up at him like he’d just sprouted a second head, “ _Like it_?” He asked, “Kyo, I… of course I like it… It’s just” He paused for a brief second and then shook his head, “Nothing. It’s wonderful.” When he looked at Kyo again he was smiling. It didn’t reach his eyes.

Kyo grunted. He hated that smile. “No, really?” He tried to keep his voice from sounding irritated. “What’s wrong with it?”

Yuki sighed, “Nothing’s wrong, it’s just… well, it’s a little more than I was expecting is all.” He crossed his arm over his stomach, “I kind of wish you hadn’t spent so much.”

Kyo felt his stomach lurch. What the- was he serious??

“ _Are you kidding right now_?” Kyo snapped. 

Yuki blinked, “What?”

Kyo let out a frustrated growl, “ _I spent too much! What about you_?”

“Me?” Yuki’s voice was a little annoyed too, “I got you a 5,000 yen gift card for new sports wear. This was a good deal more than that.”

Kyo couldn’t believe it, “Yeah, well, what about this?” He raised his arm showing off his new watch. “So you can blow a couple month’s rent on a gift for me, but I can’t do the same for you?”

Yuki’s glare softened considerably, “I- It was a birthday gift. I wanted it to be special.” He defended, “And in in any case it wasn’t _that much_. Why are you getting so upset?”

Kyo felt a vein pop in his temple. “Because you’re basically saying you’re allowed to buy me special gifts but I’m not allowed to buy them for you?” How was Yuki not getting that?

“No, I’m not, I’m just saying you don’t have to get me something expensive every time I do-,”he stood quickly, realization coming to him “Is that where you were with Tohru all morning?” 

The question was accusatory, but Yuki’s tone was anything but. He both sounded and looked worried, “Did you feel like you had to get me something expensive because of the watch?”

“No!” Kyo said defensively. He could tell Yuki knew he was lying. Everyone always knew when he lied. Kyo was, to use Yuki’s word, _atrocious_ at it.

Yuki was moving towards him and Kyo could feel himself being backed into a corner. “Fine. Maybe.” He admitted, taking a step back, “But, fuck Yuki, look at this thing. It’s perfect.”

Yuki shook his head and let out a mirthless laugh, “Idiot.”

“I told you to stop calling me that,” Kyo hissed. 

“I didn’t,” Yuki sighed, sitting back down and propping his head up with a his elbow, “I called me one. I should have known this would happen.”

Kyo froze. Oh no. This was worse than Yuki getting mad. The last thing he wanted was for Yuki to feel guilty. None of this was his fault.

“No,” Kyo plopped down next to Yuki and stared at his lap, “In no way _should you have known_ that I was gonna feel like an asshole because you gave me an amazing birthday gift?”

Yuki frowned, “Why would you feel like as asshole? Kyo, I can show you the receipt. I promise it was not two months of rent.”

Kyo, shook his head continuing to look down, “It’s got nothing to do with the price. Hell, I it’s not really even about…” He trailed off.

He saw one of Yuki’s hands float into his field of vision and grip one of his fidgeting hands.

“Tell me.” Yuki said gently.

Kyo squeezed his eyes shut and he’d his breath. He really hoped he wasn’t going to be single in 15 seconds. “Look, I’m just not as good at this as you.”

“At what?”

“At _this_ ,” Kyo finally popped his head up to look at Yuki, “At _us_. At- at being a boyfriend.”

Yuki was silent for a beat. He looked dismayed, “Why would you say that?”

Kyo threw an arm up in the air, “Well for one thing I don’t know when your birthday is.”

Yuki paled.

“Yeah,” Kyo said, feeling like the absolute worst, “You made my birthday…” Kyo’s voice cracked. He didn’t even know what word would be good enough, “and I can’t even figure out when yours is.”

Yuki took a moment to silently process the information.

Kyo sighed, “I shouldn’t’ve got so pissed, I just… I don’t want you to wake up one day and realize there’s not a single part of being with me that you’re not better at.” 

Yuki gave him a look that Kyo couldn’t read. If anything he looked sad.

“That’s not true,” He said at last. “I didn’t tell you when my birthday was because… well, because you made it great just by being you.”

“Tch,” Kyo gave him a skeptical look, “Yeah, right.”

Yuki sighed, “Every year on my birthday, I get a call from my father.”

Kyo glared on instinct.

“It’s one of our 3 annual conversations and I dread it every year.” Yuki sounded almost ashamed. “He’s not an easy man to please. When I graduated top student, he wasn’t impressed. Last year, when I landed an independent study that only 3 other university first years have ever been selected for, he wasn’t impressed.”

Kyo felt his glare intensify. He hated the way Yuki’s parents treated him. It was truly sick.

“But this year,” Yuki coughed a little, “He, um-.”

Kyo squeezed the hand Yuki was still holding, “Gave you a bunch of crap about us?”

Yuki scoffed and gazed at the the tree. “He didn’t call.” He said quietly.

Kyo’s heart twisted in his chest. There wasn’t much to say. He knew exactly how much it sucked to have shitty parents.

“I know it shouldn’t have mattered,” Yuki said, “in the grand scheme of things, my father has done much worse. This just… I don’t know.”

“Hurt.” Kyo supplied, doing his best to sound comforting. Yuki’s family was a subject they avoided pretty much daily.

Yuki nodded, “Yes. It did. And I hated that it did. I should have known better than to expect even that small acknowledgement from my parents.” 

“Hey,” Kyo squeezed his hand again, “Fuck him. You didn’t wanna talk to him anyway.”

Yuki smiled and squeezed back, “I know. Anyway, I had every intention of telling you, Ayame even said I should, but when you came home, you were in a good mood. I didn’t want to ruin that by bringing up my father. So I kept quiet.”

Kyo huffed. He didn’t like it, but it made a lot of sense. It had been mentioned to him that Yuki would always take Kyo’s feeling into consideration before his own and that he needed to start looking out for that. “I get that.” He offered, “you still should have said something.”

“You’re right,” Yuki agreed, “I meant to, I guess I just sort of forgot. We had a great time that night.”

“What’d we do?” Kyo asked.

Yuki smiled again. A genuine smile, “You taught me how to make hamburger steak. Well, you tried to. I burned it and you had to remake it.”

Kyo snorted. Yeah, that sounded accurate. He shrugged, “I guess that’s something.” He rubbed the back of his head. “Doesn’t change that I still should have known when your birthday was. I mean, you tracked mine down.”

“Not really. Kagura told us in high school. She wanted to throw a big party for you at Shigure’s house. Tohru shut it down pretty quick.” Yuki laughed.

“Ugh,” Kyo made a face, “I would’ve hated that.”

Yuki hummed and leaned his forehead against Kyo’s, “So, you see, I’m not any better at being a boyfriend than you. And if you need more proof, _my_ ex-girlfriend certainly wouldn’t have been willing to go shopping with me on Christmas Eve.”

Kyo _almost_ laughed at that. “I still didn’t do shit for your birthday.”

“Yes you did,” Yuki asserted, “You did something no one’s ever _been able_ to do on my birthday.”

Kyo raised an eyebrow.

“You made me happy.” 

Yuki moved in for another kiss and Kyo was more than ready to accept it. His heart feeling lighter at his last comment, then it had in 24 hours. But before their lips could connect, the music from the bar below changed.

“Oh god,” Kyo cringed as the same stupid song that had been following him all day started drifting up into his apartment, “not again.”

“What?” Yuki seemed annoyed that he had been denied his kiss.

“This song, this fucking song. I’ve heard so many times today,” He dropped his head on the table trying to drown out the English lyrics, “What are they even saying?”

“All I want for Christmas is you?”

“Huh?” Kyo peeked at Yuki out the side of his eye.

“All I Want for Christmas is You.” Yuki repeated, “That’s the name of this song”

He bobbed his head to the catchy tune.

“ _I don’t want a lot for Christmas, there is just one thing I need._ ” He translated, only slightly out of tune, “ _I don’t care about the presents underneath the Christmas tree._ ”

Kyo dropped his head back down, “Okay, great, you can stop now.”

Yuki narrowed his eyes playfully and crawled closer, “ _I just want you for my own, more than you could ever know._ ”

Kyo groaned and tried to push him away, “Cut it out. You suck.”

Yuki laughed and stood, yanking Kyo up to his feet as well.

“What the-?” Kyo squawked.

Yuki grinned and took one of Kyo’s hands, intertwining their fingers. The other he wrapped Kyo’s waist and started swaying back and forth. “ _Make my wish come true._ ”

Kyo rolled his eyes, but didn’t try to pull away from the dance, “Really? The ice skating wasn’t mushy enough for you?

Yuki just kept smiling and placed Kyo’s other hand on his shoulder, “ _All I want for Christmas is you_.” He pecked Kyo on the lips as the slow part of the song gave way to the familiar drums.

Kyo snorted and pulled Yuki up against him, their lips only a millimeter apart, “So I can take that coffee thing back then?”

“Absolutely not.” Yuki replied.

And then they were kissing again, tripping over each other’s feet as they made their way to Kyo’s futon.

  
~~

Kyo’s eyes were starting to droop as he lay naked in bed. Next to him, Yuki was starting to doze off as well. He was lying on his side facing Kyo, with his eyes just barely closed. Kyo glanced at the watch that was still around his wrist. It was after midnight.

Squinting in the dark, Kyo fiddled with the band until the fastening came undone. He pulled it off and flipped it over, just barely making out the words engraved on the back. His breath hitched. 

Truth was, the watch was more than an expensive gift. It was a replacement for something else he’d once worn on his left wrist. Something he’d never imagined he’d be able to take off. 

Yuki’s words from the pervious night played in his head: _I want you to know. When you look down at your wrist- because you do sometimes- I want you to know._

He looked over at Yuki, “Hey, rat?” He whispered.

Yuki lazily popped one of his eyes open, “Yes, kitten?” He whispered back.

“Merry Christmas.”

Yuki smiled and kissed the bridge of his nose, “Merry Christmas, Kyo. Oh, and September 5th.”

“What’s September 5th?” Kyo yawned.

“Just a date you might want to remember for next year.” Yuki huddle closer to him and closed his eyes again.

“Got it.” Kyo reached down and pulled his blankets more snuggly around them. 

He placed the watch on his nightstand. Its message glowed in the moonlight from his window.

_You have all the time in the world._

Kyo decided right then he wanted to spend all of it with Yuki.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello and Happy Holidays!
> 
> This one is really just my shout out to all the late December Birthday's out there. 
> 
> Just a heads up, in this I have Kyo's Birthday as December 23rd. He is a Capricorn, but I've heard that his birthday is canonically set in January, so please forgive me, I had this written before I knew and I still loved the story.
> 
> Stay safe everyone and thank you for reading.


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